Backcountry rifle weight?

[rwc101]

Winchester Model 70. 8.5 on the dot with a 3-9X50.

 

[el unit]

8 lbs. 10 oz. on my 30.06 Ruger M77- loaded, scope, and leather sling
8 lbs. 14 oz. on my 300 wm Ruger #1- 2 rounds, scope, and leather sling

 

[cahunter805]

Most of my hunting rifles are close to 10lbs and feel great to me. That includes the NF scope, bipod and ammo.
To me a slightly heavier rifle is more comfy to shoot and I’m confident in them.

 

[skyfire]

My Winchester 670 30-06 with VX-5HD 3-15x44 comes in right at 9.0 lbs; rifle and scope only. I don't want anything heavier. I'd be happy with just a little lighter.

 

[huntin24/7]

Thanks for all the replies. I “think” I’ve finally settled on a 7mm in rem 700 awr that goes about 7.5# without scope and bipod. It’s kinda frustratung researching anymore with all the negative comments about every rifle it seems. I’ve bought rifles in tikka, Remington, and savage and shot others that friends had from .243-300 win mag and in between calibers , and ive never had an issue with either factory ammo or minimal work reloading finding a bullet to shoot moa or less in any of them. Are there a lot of lemons out there or what’s the deal? Maybe I’ve just been lucky so far. I’ve mostly been a Remington guy and never seen any accuracy issues but certainly hear a lot of negative it seems these days.

 

[cahunter805]

The AWR is a great rifle with some very nice components. Buy with confidence.

 

[rjthehunter]

Thanks for all the replies. I “think” I’ve finally settled on a 7mm in rem 700 awr that goes about 7.5# without scope and bipod. It’s kinda frustratung researching anymore with all the negative comments about every rifle it seems. I’ve bought rifles in tikka, Remington, and savage and shot others that friends had from .243-300 win mag and in between calibers , and ive never had an issue with either factory ammo or minimal work reloading finding a bullet to shoot moa or less in any of them. Are there a lot of lemons out there or what’s the deal? Maybe I’ve just been lucky so far. I’ve mostly been a Remington guy and never seen any accuracy issues but certainly hear a lot of negative it seems these days.

I think more of the issue is people not getting results they want. They might be a bad shot. They might flinch when they shoot. I know several people who have "inaccurate" rifles but when I shoot them, they do just fine. The best one yet was my cousin trying to sight in his rifle one fall. My cousin and uncle had just went and bought new rifles (some cheap savage axis 30-06) They shot and would hit everywhere but the same spot. I took 2 shots, knew something was wrong, looked at the scope.. AND IT WAS LOOSE... I said well tightening down the scope helps. So I torqued it down, bore-sighted it by pulling the bolt out and took 6 more shots at 100 yards and had it dialed in. They each take their rifles back and shoot them a couple times and say wow look at that. They still can't shoot for a crap, but at least the can't blame their rifles now.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I think more of the issue is people not getting results they want. They might be a bad shot. They might flinch when they shoot. I know several people who have "inaccurate" rifles but when I shoot them, they do just fine.

Right... so a heavier rifle will mitigate these factors. A 10lb rifle will move off target 30% less than a 7lb rifle when the shooter flinches. Taken to extremes a 80lb rifle would be near impossible to flinch out of position while a .5lb rifle would be hard for even the best shooter to keep steady.

No one argues that a rifles weight doesn't reduce recoil, so I'm surprised people argue that weight wouldn't wouldn't effect accuracy, it's the same physics principle in reverse.

 

[ShadowFast1]

Rifle weight doesn't affect accuracy. It affects consistency.

 

[memtb]

Does anyone carry a heavier rifle elk hunting? My current rifle setup is just over 10# all set up and doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve decided which rifle I’m going to get except can’t decide which model. One is 7.5ish# and the other 9.5# rifle only. Im in good hunting shape and have been on 2 mountain goat hunts so have an idea of mountain hunting even though my elk experience is limited to the breaks. I know heavier usually shoots better but obviously the weight adds up. Anyone out there use “heavy” rifles in the mountains?

Our (wife and myself) rifles weigh-in at just under 9 pounds (hers), just over 9 pounds (mine), scoped, loaded, and slung. It would be nice to have them a little lighter, but at the cost of increased recoil. Very light rifles are more generally difficult to shoot from field positions. Both of our hunting rifles have appreciable recoil.....bench work would be unpleasant! memtb

 

[BWALKER77]

Oi

Rifle weight doesn't affect accuracy. It affects consistency.

All things considered a heavy barrel rifle will be more inherintlly accurate and more accurate in the field.
The two main thing that help field accuracy are a barrel weight and a light trigger.

 

[BWALKER77]

My rifles are all between 7.5 and 8.25 and for me I've found that to be the sweet spot when it comes to carrying and shooting.

That's not a bad place to be for all around rifles.

 

[ShadowFast1]

Oi

All things considered a heavy barrel rifle will be more inherintlly accurate and more accurate in the field.
The two main thing that help field accuracy are a barrel weight and a light trigger.

A heavy rifle dampens the input from the shooter and from the wind moving the rifle around. If you have two perfectly identical rifles, one with a heavy barrel and heavy stock, one with a light profile barrel and lightweight stock, there would be no difference in mechanical accuracy. A good shooter isn't accurate, they're consistent.

 

[BWALKER77]

A heavy rifle dampens the input from the shooter and from the wind moving the rifle around. If you have two perfectly identical rifles, one with a heavy barrel and heavy stock, one with a light profile barrel and lightweight stock, there would be no difference in mechanical accuracy. A good shooter isn't accurate, they're consistent.

Not so, and this has been proven by shooting guns in machine tests. I wish I had a citation for this but I cant find it at the moment. Lots of reasons for this. Barrel heating, barrel stiffness, etc.
I agree that a bravery gun is easier to shoot consistently for then reasons you mentioned.

 

[ShadowFast1]

I'll maintain that rifle accuracy has much more to do with how the barrel is made and how well it is tuned, than how heavy the barrel is.

 

[rjthehunter]

Rifle weight doesn't affect accuracy. It affects consistency.

Weight affects shooters accuracy, in turn affecting overall accuracy. A good rifle is only as accurate as the person pulling the trigger. Weight dulls all movement in turn being more forgiving than a 3lb rifle would be

 

[ShadowFast1]

A good rifle is accurate regardless as to who is shooting it. A good shooter can showcase that rifle's accuracy by being consistent in shooting it. Heavier rifles help the shooter do that.

My newest rifle weighs about 6.2 lbs before adding a scope, which I haven't done yet. The rifle I took elk hunting last year weighed about 8.5 lbs with scope and ammo. My backup rifle weighed about that much. That seems to be a good balance between packability and shootability.

 

[kbhillhunter]

Thanks for all the replies. I “think” I’ve finally settled on a 7mm in rem 700 awr that goes about 7.5# without scope and bipod. It’s kinda frustratung researching anymore with all the negative comments about every rifle it seems. I’ve bought rifles in tikka, Remington, and savage and shot others that friends had from .243-300 win mag and in between calibers , and ive never had an issue with either factory ammo or minimal work reloading finding a bullet to shoot moa or less in any of them. Are there a lot of lemons out there or what’s the deal? Maybe I’ve just been lucky so far. I’ve mostly been a Remington guy and never seen any accuracy issues but certainly hear a lot of negative it seems these days.

I had that model and caliber briefly and if I recall, it was a hair under 8lbs bare gun. Not a huge difference but figured I'd mention it given the topic here.

 

[huntin24/7]

I had that model and caliber briefly and if I recall, it was a hair under 8lbs bare gun. Not a huge difference but figured I'd mention it given the topic here.

How’d you like it? How was recoil?

 

[std7mag]

Huntin24/7,
Congratulations on the new rifle!
I hope you enjoy it! What scope are you planning for it?
No matter which scope you choose, give Schmalts a PM, he'll get you set up & treat ya right!